The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 355: In Korea (1)

A golden shadow crossed the lake. The early morning lake was quiet. The small, isolated island without a single boat trail was the same. The golden dragon instantly gained altitude and looked down at Nosan Island. Soldiers moved along the barbed wire and watchtowers.

Noah, knowing his stealth skill couldn’t evade the eyes of an S-rank Hunter, cautiously hid within the clouds and carefully observed below. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed him. No one stood out as particularly high-ranking by their clothing. Since everyone was in military uniform, it was relatively easy to estimate their rank with the naked eye.

After confirming that there were no high-ranking individuals, Noah transformed into human form with only his wings exposed and took the camera hanging around his neck into his hand. At the same time, he lowered his flight altitude and thoroughly filmed every corner of the Nosan Island Special Awakened Management Facility.

‘…I wonder if Yujin is okay.’

He wanted to sneak in deeper and see for himself. But he had heard there were at least three S-rank Hunters stationed there.

— Ppiyak!

Chirp, who had been sitting on Noah’s head, flapped his wings as if urging him to go there.

“No, not yet.”

Noah gave up his hesitation and turned his body. His destination was the city in the special district near Lake Chao. The buildings that filled the fairly large city were mostly damaged. Some were partially destroyed, cracked, or even completely collapsed. It was about time for people to be active, yet the streets were nearly empty. More than half of the few visible people wore military uniforms.

Noah approached a shabby five-story building and slipped inside through an open window. After closing the window and drawing the curtains, the man sitting on the bed flinched and rolled his eyes around, trying to find the invisible Noah.

“I haven’t contacted anyone!”

“Thank you. Keep your voice down.”

As soon as he arrived, Noah secured a base of operations. He broke into the home of a man living alone, had him sign a contract, and obtained information. The man was an awakened who had been forcibly sent to the special district, and he was highly dissatisfied with his situation, so he was quite cooperative even without the contract.

“As I mentioned before, all communication devices are monitored.”

The man spoke as Noah removed the memory card from the camera.

“Not only are subversive awakened individuals brought here, but also the families of awakened who could be used as hostages, so communication with the outside is thoroughly controlled.”

“Still, it doesn’t seem like there’s no resistance. I saw traces of battles all over the place.”

“They were all D-rank or lower, but they couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. There have been multiple attempts to escape in groups but…”

The man continued, his face slightly pale.

“The results weren’t good. Um, you seem to be a high-ranked Hunter…”

Noah placed Chirp, who had been sitting on his head, onto the table. When he gave him a small magic stone, Chirp quickly snatched it and ate.

— Ppiyak!

“Go home, to Belare. Not to Yujin. Not to Daddy. Daddy’s not allowed.”

— Ppiyakppiak!

A memory card was attached to Chirp’s ankle as he flapped his small wings. At Noah’s words, go home, Chirp vanished in an instant. Noah turned his gaze to the man staring blankly at the spot Chirp had disappeared from.

“There will be a chance.”

Right now, he didn’t have the capacity nor the reason to help that man or the people here. But soon, a huge opening would appear. Perhaps this place might disappear altogether in the ensuing chaos. Noah activated his stealth skill again and slipped out the window.

— Ppiyak!

At the sound of the chick’s cry, Do Hamin, who had been sprawled out on the sofa, shot up. Belare also raised her head with a hiss.

“You made it back properly!”

Worried about Chirp recklessly using teleportation, Han Yujin had decided after returning from Japan to properly train him. The top priorities were not going out alone and not going to Daddy. The problem was that Chirp was too good at going to Daddy without being taught. After succeeding with “home,” “Belare,” and “Peace,” he still didn’t go well to anyone besides Han Yujin.

“That’s right, Chirp. You can’t go to Daddy for a while. No Daddy.”

— Ppiya.

“Here, eat a magic stone and let me see your ankle. It’s a memory card. Now stay and play quietly with Belare.”

— Ppiyakppiak!

“You just came from where Daddy is. You can’t go now.”

Chirp couldn’t frequently use long-distance teleportation. That’s why Noah took him to quietly deliver the data. Even with training, no one could be sure when Chirp might suddenly disappear to see his Daddy, and if Chirp suddenly appeared next to Han Yujin, both could be in serious danger. Since he had made such a long trip once, it should be safe for a while.

“I don’t know if agreeing to work with your dad was the right decision. For an informant, sticking your neck out means a quick death! And it’s even China. Terrifying.”

If Han Yujin had heard that, he would’ve muttered that it sounded like something from before the regression. That swapping China with the Haeyeon Guild would make it exactly the same. Muttering to himself, Do Hamin hurriedly left the house.

“The young master looks pissed. Not surprising.”

At Moon Hyunah’s words, Park Yerim nodded.

“He curled up all night hugging Mister’s pillow in Mister’s room. I really don’t get how he lived apart for three years like that.”

“When he had just awakened, everyone underestimated him as a minor S-rank and targeted him, so it made sense. Even other S-rank Hunters thought they could put him beneath them because he was young. Except for Seong Hyunjae. He was too busy traveling overseas and wasn’t interested.”

“What about you, unni?”

“I figured he was still a kid, so I considered giving him some advice, but then thought, ‘Ugh, just another lunatic,’ and backed off. If the young master had been even a little more sociable, I might’ve said I’d protect Chief Han myself.”

Moon Hyunah had awakened early and became a Hunter alongside trustworthy people. She quickly found her place, and by that time, she had enough ability to protect at least one person.

“But the young master didn’t trust anyone. Honestly, that might’ve been the wiser path. Instead of trusting someone and handing over his brother, keeping his distance and growing stronger. He handled it well on his own too.”

“That… I think that’s really impressive too.”

Park Yerim said, looking at Han Yuhyun, who sat alone radiating an unapproachable aura that kept everyone at bay.

“Team Leader Seok kept praising Han Yuhyun, saying he had built his foundation well even before they joined up. I almost flipped the table. That Mister looks like he’d get along great with Mister, seeing stuff like that.”

There was a strange distance between them. Based on their actions, it looked like they’d been close friends for ten years, meeting up two or three times a week and constantly glorifying Han Yuhyun, yet…

“He’s amazing. Succeeding in standing on his own without anyone’s help at that age. If he’d gotten help from another faction back then, Team Leader Seok probably wouldn’t have ended up under Han Yuhyun. I’m jealous.”

“Why? You’re amazing too, unni.”

Park Yerim lowered her voice significantly as she continued.

“How’s your preparation for going independent?”

“I’m scraping together what I can. Liette accepting my request helped a lot.”

Digging into other people’s backgrounds didn’t suit her temperament. But if she wanted to pull her guild out with minimal damage, she needed protective intel.

“I’m tempted to use force while Chief Song is out on leave and away from his post, but… I’d feel bad. And people would talk.”

“Our guild master and Sesung’s guild master probably used that kind of method a lot though.”

“Liette actually scolded me for being too cautious.”

Moon Hyunah gave a bitter smile.

“She said I was wasting time trying not to leave even a scratch.”

When someone says, “Just wipe them all out. Let the bastards curse all they want. I’ll kill the ones that curse too~,” there’s really no response other than saying you can’t. The burden she carried was too heavy to cross the moral line lightly.

“You’re a guild master. Liette unni isn’t. Didn’t you say she lives completely wild?”

“You live wild too, Yerim. And that’s okay. Don’t ever worry about how others see you.”

Moon Hyunah gently patted Park Yerim on the back. Just then, a voice announced that preparations were complete. The official briefing on the disappearance of Mister, Han Yujin, the director of the Monster Mounts breeding facility, had begun.

In front of reporters, footage related to the incident that happened yesterday was shown. A vehicle submerged in water, a car abandoned near the breeding facility, an airplane grounded at the airport. The conclusion was that those who kidnapped Han Yujin were likely connected to the Chinese mafia, and the government had requested cooperation from China.

Call logs and location tracking records with Han Yujin were not disclosed. If China denied everything anyway, they couldn’t be used as evidence, and revealing them would only raise defenses unnecessarily. Since the decision had been made to move quietly, it was more advantageous to hide as much of their own information as possible.

The briefing ended with a statement saying that, beyond Han Yujin’s value as an awakened individual, every effort would be made to ensure the safe return of a fellow citizen. Then came attempts to interview Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim as Han Yujin’s family. Or at least there was an attempt, but no one could get close to Han Yuhyun, so only Park Yerim spoke, expressing with a sorrowful face her hope that Mister would return safely.

“The PR team’s gonna cry, guild leader.”

At Park Yerim’s words, Han Yuhyun furrowed his brow.

“…I have a bad feeling.”

“You said the back of your hand is still okay.”

Han Yuhyun looked at the back of his hand, then closed his mouth and walked off. Since last night, his head had been so filled with worry for his brother that it was hard to think of anything else. He wanted to ignore everything and just run off to China.

“Sesung’s Mister is headed to the breeding facility.”

Park Yerim said while looking at her phone. The two of them immediately headed to the Monster Mounts breeding facility. In the sitting room, Seong Hyunjae and Do Hamin were waiting. Do Hamin, looking like he wanted to escape immediately, looked toward Park Yerim, who was at least easier to deal with.

“Song Taewon, who’s currently on leave, should arrive soon. We’ll begin the discussion then.”

At Seong Hyunjae’s words, Park Yerim said she’d step out for a moment and left the sitting room. Do Hamin slumped into the deepest corner of the sofa with a gloomy expression.

“I heard materials arrived from Hunter Noah.”

Han Yuhyun said to Do Hamin, who nodded.

“Along with photos and video, there were also several images of memos detailing the surrounding context. It was more thorough than I expected.”

“He was trained in that area.”

Seong Hyunjae said.

“Noah’s stat traits are actually more suited for modern operations, especially espionage, rather than dungeon raids. Flight, stealth, even curse contracts. That’s why I had him trained specifically.”

The issue was his low motivation toward work. He had no trust in Seong Hyunjae, and although he was bound by a contract, due to his curse resistance, the effectiveness was diminished. If someone handling critical information were to betray them, it could cause significant damage instead, making him a useful but difficult piece to manage. However, as long as Han Yujin was the objective, there was no one more suited for information gathering.

At that moment, the door opened, and Song Taewon entered. Shortly after, Park Yerim returned, holding a black-furred lamb in her arms.

“Chief Song, it’s Little Song!”

Striding up to Song Taewon, Park Yerim abruptly held out the lamb.

“She says she’s lonely because Mister’s gone.”

“…It’s been one day.”

“Right, Little Song.”

— Baa.

“Mister would feel at ease too if you looked after her, Chief Song. Just hold her for now.”

Park Yerim and the lamb both looked up at Song Taewon with clear, expectant eyes. Overwhelmed by the double gaze, Song Taewon gave in and took the lamb.

“When Mister comes back, you have to officially take Little Song!”

Instead of replying, Song Taewon let out a soft sigh. The lamb in his arms let out a bleat.

“You suit each other well.”

Seong Hyunjae said as he turned the laptop screen so everyone could see it.

“This is Nosan Island, Special Awakened Management Facility No. 1 in the Chao Lake Special District. It’s also where the phone tracking stopped.”

“In the middle of the lake?”

“It’s a very big lake, little lady.”

“Then we can just wipe it out!”

“The problem is, three S-rank Hunters are stationed on that island alone, and there are estimated to be over five S-rank Hunters available to provide support.”

At Seong Hyunjae’s words, Park Yerim’s eyes widened.

“Didn’t they say there were nine Chinese Hunters?”

“Officially. In reality, it’s likely more than triple that.”

“Think about the population. Triple is still a low estimate.”

Han Yuhyun added an explanation. Do Hamin also chimed in.

“India, which has the second-largest population after China, has over thirty S-rank Hunters. It’s assumed China has at least that many as well. There’s a high possibility the actual number is even greater. Like China, India hasn’t fully established proper statistics for awakened individuals, but it’s not as restricted.”

“…Still, it’s by the lake!”

“Don’t think you’re the only Hunter who has an advantage in water, Park Yerim. You’re probably the strongest, though.”

The photos on the laptop began cycling. The lake’s surroundings, Nosan Island, and the Special District city were all captured in detail. Lastly, a picture of the ruined airport appeared.

“This is likely the work of Han Yujin.”

“…Hyung.”

“Wow, does that mean Mister is safe?”

Next, Seong Hyunjae laid out several files on the table.

“The nearest Hefei Airport will be unusable for a while, but Nanjing Airport is still intact. That means Han Yujin could be relocated to another place at any time.”

“Then we need to block the airport first?”

“And we need to infiltrate as quietly as possible. Since China is so vast, if he’s properly hidden, he’ll be hard to find. For cover identities we can prepare, obviously military is excluded, so first up is the mafia.”

Seong Hyunjae opened one of the files and spun it around so Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim across from him could read it easily.

“It’s a neutral faction, but the numbers are relatively small, so the risk of exposure is high.”

He then opened the second file.